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Monster Job Site Just Keeps Growing

Online job search sites are growing, but one site leads the corps.

By Anne Fischer Lent, PCWorld   

After gobbling up its competitor, Online Career Center, in 1995, TMP Worldwide held the number-one and number-four career sites, according to Media Metrix, a New York-based usage-measurement service. This week, TMP announced that the two online recruitment sites will merge to form one mega-Monster.com.

Not Just for Techies

What started in 1994 as a site for technical job seekers in New England has gone mainstream. Today, Monster.com carries about 150,000 job listings from all over the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Australia. What's more, about 50 percent of the jobs listed are not in technology but run the gamut from administrative assistants to taxidermists, says Jeff Taylor, Monster.com chief executive officer.

The trend toward positions outside of the high-tech field is only increasing on online career sites, according to new data from Monster.com rival CareerMosaic. In fact, CareerMosaic found that online job seekers look for management positions more than any other. Only three technical positions were in its top ten.

Because Monster.com is so, well, monstrous, smaller sites like CareerMosaic (which carries about 80,000 listings) have to be creative. CareerMosaic recently teamed with Fortune.com to launch the Fortune CareerMosaic Employment Connection. It will include job-hunting tips and career advice from Fortune magazine. CareerMosaic also stages online job fairs and hosts a section for students.

Playing Both Sides

The new Monster.com site, which expects 4.5 to 5 million visitors per month, is also designed for recruiters and employers. The section My Monster provides tools for job seekers to manage all aspects of their search, from creating and storing resumes to networking with a career community across the globe. My Monster also keeps track of how many potential employers take a gander at your resume.

Recruiters can join Monster.com and post job openings as they occur, as well as access a database of more than 1 million resumes. The built-in screening tool lets employers do a quick look through resumes for specific skills, and ranks each applicant from most to least desirable based on how they match the employer's profile. Like a handy human resources assistant, Monster.com will even send e-mail to applicants inviting them to interviews, and will notify them when a position is filled--a task many HR humans forget to do.

Monster.com also offers something for those of us who are sure we can't find a better job or who don't want a new employee. Whether you're graduating or are a successful executive, you'll find a free newsletter, real-time chats, and message boards that link you with your peers. If you're not into chat but want information, check the Careers Network area for targeted resources for different career levels and specific industries.